Microsoft Small Business Server 2011 and a Linux-based SME server both offer useful email delivery solutions.
Two SME servers – One free, the other not.
I mentioned in my previous article that taking your users mail off-site (“using the cloud”) has problems in a low-bandwidth environment such as South Africa. Here I talk about two servers that do the job, with different secondary objectives. Microsoft SBS2011 is very clever and, I dare-say, very good value for money. This client wanted a sophisticated user experience. Linux based SME server has a lot more in common with older paid-for products such as SBS2003 but this customer didn’t want frills, and frankly, was not prepared to pay for software.
This table indicates similarities and differences between these 2 clients:
| Client #1: Engineering Consultants | Client #2: Transport/Logistics |
| Computer literacy very high | Low Level of computer literacy |
| Wanted Smartphone compatibility with remote access to mail for “road warriors” | No need for remote access |
| Large volumes of data, client used to sharing files via server in LAN environment | Server only needed for mail and accounting application |
| Management wanted to monitor server themselves and perform their own support – Low maintenance a priority | No interest in managing own resources |
| Disciplined archiving of data | No formal management of data |
| High regards for internet security issues | “Why should we have antivirus?” |
| “Early adopters” | Conservative attitude to technology |
MS Small Business Server 2011
Microsoft’s Small Business Server 2011 needs a modern processor and I found that despite 6GB ram on board and a quad-core processor, the user interface was not very speedy. It seems that the package integrates so many software services that many inquiries such as backup data, user permissions, reports and similar operations have to collate a great deal of information. The server has been built with simplicity in mind for the user but what goes on in the background is definitely not simple. Use the setup wizards wherever possible to minimise heartache.
My previous experience was with SBS2003 so the new features take some getting used to. I felt more restricted with this version, but once I escaped the paradigm traps of my experience I found it very satisfying to finish the roll-out of this server. The customer loves that he can read a mail on his smartphone , and it shows up “read” on his desktop! Exchange is a very potent mail server and is hard to beat for shared calendars and notes. I enjoyed that this customer respects software licencing rights and keeps his software up-to-date. Because of this, he can take advantage of the new developments. Despite the popularity of Microsoft-bashing in certain IT circles, I feel that the time spent by Microsoft in producing this product has made for a product that delivers very good value for money for a small business.
SME Linux (formerly E-Smith)
In my previous article I mentioned that this client sent many mails with large attachments inside their own organisation. They used to have a mail server but abandoned it “because it gave problems”. They tried to do without a mail server and choked up their bandwidth (wireless “broadband”). I had to put in a mail server to get this under control but I knew they would not pay for licensing. I guess they were tired of paying for solutions that did not work and they were sick of listening to promises that didn’t necessarily materialise.
Taking the unused tower server with 1GB ram and dual-core processor (think +5years old!) I downloaded the ISO, burned a CD and installed it over a weekend. It took longer to re-configure the client machines than it took me to to configure the server and I was impressed with the no-nonsense installation. It had many features I did not need, such as file-sharing, gateway, DHCP, DNS and more. I also liked the way it made the logs available to the web-based interface – troubleshooting was simple in that I was presented with few tools and had to make do with them.
Mail retrieval method
Many system administrators would not agree with the approach I use. In both cases, I had the mail “fetched” from individual user accounts at the ISP and dropped in to user mailboxes on the server. This means that a new user has to be configured at both the ISP and at the server. This may seem like double work but I was able to bypass the inertia of the users’ methods and history of doing business by e-mail. The users cannot perceive the difference, and I have succeeded in saving time and resources for users sending mail within the company.
This is what the client pays for – too bad it is not efficient in the conventional sense. When a user leaves the company, their mail is dropped into the mailbox of their replacement, replies use the new user’s account but mail follows the historical channels and people outside the organisation don’t get punished for changes in staff. This is not trivial for debtors and creditors clerks. (You know, the money people!)
The case for small business servers
Small business networks still concentrate on file and print sharing. Nowadays, network printers remove one of the original purposes of a small business server, handling the network functionality themselves. There is still a place, however, for servers in a small business environment. A central email repository makes a lot of sense in that it takes the load off a company’s bandwidth while still offering staff the “I’ve-handed-that-over” functionality they long for.
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